Mark Rylands
Honorific-prefixThe Right Reverend
TitleBishop of Shrewsbury
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseLichfield
Term2009–2018
PredecessorAlan Smith
SuccessorSarah Bullock
Ordination1987 (deacon); 1988 (priest)
Ordained byMichael Baughen
Consecration28 October 2009
Consecrated byRowan Williams
Birth date11 July 1961 (age 65)
NationalityBritish
ReligionAnglican
ResidenceAthlone House, Shrewsbury[1][dubious – discuss]
ParentsMichael Rylands · Denise Bates
SpouseMandy (m. 1986)
Alma materHild Bede, Durham

Mark James Rylands (born 11 July 1961) is a British Anglican bishop. From 2009 until 2018, he was the area Bishop of Shrewsbury in the Church of England.

Early life

Rylands was born on 11 July 1961, the son of Michael Rylands and Denise née Bates.[2] Michael was sometime Vicar of Wilton, Wiltshire, Rector of Malpas, Cheshire and honorary canon of Chester[3][a][3] and Denise a scion of the Bates baronets (of Bellefield): her grandfather was Edward, 2nd Baronet.[4] He was educated at Shrewsbury School and the College of St Hild and St Bede, Durham University, the latter whence he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1983. He trained for the ministry at Trinity College, Bristol, gaining a second BA in 1987;[5] and later studied for a Master of Arts degree from Sheffield University, which he was awarded in 2006.

Ordained ministry

He was made a deacon at Petertide 1987 (27 June)[6] and ordained a priest the Petertide following (3 July 1988) — both times by Michael Baughen, Bishop of Chester, at Chester Cathedral;[7] he began his ordained ministry with a title post as assistant curate at St George's Heaviley, Stockport[8] (1987–1991); he was then vicar of Acton and Worleston, Church Minshull and Wettenhall, Cheshire (1991–1997). He moved to Somerset in 1997 to be team tector for the Langport team ministry[2] (Aller, Drayton, High Ham with Low Ham, Huish Episcopi, Long Sutton, Muchelney and Pitney); then from 2002[5] until his appointment to the episcopate[9] he was diocesan missioner for the Diocese of Exeter and a canon residentiary at Exeter Cathedral.[10]

Episcopate

Rylands was appointed Bishop of Shrewsbury, one of three area bishops (suffragan bishops with delegated responsibility for episcopal areas) in the Diocese of Lichfield: he was consecrated a bishop at Westminster Abbey on 28 October 2009 by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury,[11] and installed at Lichfield Cathedral on 2 November 2009.[12][13][14]

In March 2018 it was announced that Rylands would resign as Bishop of Shrewsbury and return to parish ministry.[15] Since July 2018,[16] he has led the Ashburton and Moorland team ministry in the Diocese of Exeter, first as priest-in-charge and then as rector since 2021.[17] He has additionally been an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Exeter since 2018.[16]

Personal life

Mark married in 1986 and they have two adult children;[2] his wife is also a priest.[b]

Styles

Notes

  1. ^ Thomas Michael Rylands was made a deacon in 1947,[18] ordained a priest in 1948,[19] and died on 21 October 2003, aged 85.
  2. ^ She was licensed a deaconess in 1985,[20] made a deacon in 1987[21] and ordained a priest in 1994.[22]

References

  1. ^ Diocese of Lichfield — Bishop of Shrewsbury Archived 2008-05-12 at the Wayback Machine
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  4. ^ Mosley, Charles (ed.) Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, volume 1. (Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's, 2003) p. 287.
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  8. ^ "St George's with St Gabriel's, Stockport". Stgeorgestockport.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2009-11-15. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  9. ^ "Rural evangelist chosen as Bishop of Shrewsbury". Diocese of Lichfield. 4 August 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  10. ^ "Shrewsbury's new bishop announced". BBC News. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  11. ^ "Eucharist with the Ordination and Consecration of the Reverend Mark Rylands, Canon Missioner for Exeter Diocese and Cathedral, to be Bishop of Shrewsbury in the Diocese of Lichfield by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  12. ^ Diocese of Lichfield — Hear Ye: Town Crier invites shoppers to "pull up a pew" with bishop Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Official announcement: Suffragan See of Shrewsbury". Number10.gov.uk. 4 August 2009. Archived from the original on 7 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  14. ^ "'Making disciples' is main task". BBC Shropshire. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  15. ^ "Bishop Mark to bid farewell". Diocese of Lichfield - News. 18 March 2018. Archived 25 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  16. ^ "BISHOP MARK RETURNS TO DIOCESE TO BECOME A PARISH PRIEST AGAIN" (pdf). Church of England Devon. Diocese of Exeter. October 2018. p. 1. Archived 3 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Rylands, Rt Rev. Mark James, (born 11 July 1961), Team Rector, Ashburton and Moorland Team Ministry, since 2021 (Priest-in-charge, 2018–21); an Honorary Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Exeter, since 2018". Who's Who 2022. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
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